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Cancer Patient Combats Broken Elevator: 'It's A Heavy Burden'

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4) - Life has been difficult enough for 62-year-old Sharon Arnhold.  She has been dealing with breast and bone cancer and now a spot has been found on her brain.

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She lives at the Hidden Lake Apartments in Westminster. The elevator in her building has been less than reliable.

"It's a heavy burden. My legs are swollen like they are right now and hurts like crazy," she told CBS4's Rick Sallinger.

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And so for weeks on end she has had to walk up the stairs. Not one, not two, but three flights to her apartment on the fourth floor.

One day she had an emergency.

"The ambulance came, but they had to carry me down the stairs to get to the stretcher," she said.

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She has a wheel chair and walker courtesy of friends like David Dorcas.

"We bought her a wheel chair so she can get up and down, but when the elevator isn't working that's a big problem," he said.

CBS4 went to ask at the leasing office why the elevator is broken so often and why Arnhold couldn't move to the first floor. BLDG Management had not responded to calls or emails by the end of the day.

Arnhold says she hasn't gotten much of a response either.

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"I'm a human being you know? I need help. If they send people to come out and do this job right I'll be happy," she said.

For now she is getting by truly with a little help from her friends.

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